by Riley Storm
“I like your grandmother,” he said, sitting back suddenly, the motion pulling his dress shirt tight against his body, revealing the muscle underneath. He was absolutely ripped, and not for the first time, she wondered what he would look like without a shirt.
“Yeah, she’s a character,” Sarah said, forcing herself to laugh and look away.
“Very much so,” Jax agreed. “Does she always get involved—”
“In everything?” Sarah finished, interrupting him with exasperated words. “Yes. Completely, and totally. Stereotypical nosy grandma that wants to be involved. Love her to bits, but oh my goodness.”
Jax threw his head back and laughed, a deep good-natured sound that seemed to emanate directly from his belly. Sarah found she liked the sound of that.
“So, you came here to support her then? How was she doing before then?”
“She lost a lot in the crash,” Sarah explained. “Sold some of my grandfather’s stuff that she’d had in storage, that gave her a few more years, but she was running on empty. The amount the government gives just isn’t enough for her. So, I live with her now and together we manage to make ends meet.”
Sarah didn’t like revealing her financial circumstances at all, least of all to someone like Jax. She waited now for him to offer her money, something to help ease the burden. It was what she expected him to do.
The offer never came, however, and all Jax did was nod.
“That’s very admirable of you,” he added in a quiet, respectful voice.
“What about you?” she asked, changing the subject, wanting to know more about the mysterious Drakon scion. “Nobody had heard of you, or your brothers really, until recently when you decided to make a splash with the Outreach Center. Mysterious and aloof, I think is how the news described your family. What’s your story, where have you been, why come back now? Give me the details,” she joked, leaning forward to rest her head on her palms, elbows on the table.
“Oh, me is it?” he said lightly, smiling. “Well, let’s see. Where have we been, I guess is probably what you want to know most. The answer is, right here. We never left we just…did our own thing.”
Like her answers, Sarah could tell it wasn’t a complete one. There was a lot missing from that explanation. A lot.
“We decided to come back to town, to get involved, because we could tell that Plymouth Falls was suffering. It could use our help. As one of the founding members of Plymouth Falls, I thought it best to give back.”
She frowned. “You mean your family.”
“Pardon?”
“Your family were founding members,” she said. “Not you. You made it sound like you helped found Plymouth Falls.”
Jax looked confused, then wistful, then sad. A quick shake of his head, however, and the expression cleared, replaced with that smile. “Yes of course. I’m not as young as I’d like to be, but that would make me a bit old now, wouldn’t it?”
“Just a bit,” she teased. “Though you certainly have aged well if that’s the case!”
They both shared a laugh.
“Anyway, as I was saying, we wanted to help make the town thrive again. We couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Not any longer.”
“That’s very admirable of you,” she said, echoing his words about her grandmother.
Before Jax could respond, their food arrived and the deep conversation stopped. They both dug into the meals, clearly quite hungry.
Shortly after clearing their plates, the waitress dropped the bill off and swept on to the next table before Sarah could ask to have it split.
Jax stared at the piece of paper but didn’t reach for it. His eyes caught hers.
“Would you let me pay for it?” he asked politely. “Or do you truly want to split it? I will do whichever you wish, though I feel like I should point out that I may as well spend my money on something.”
Sarah shrugged helplessly. Her morals insisted she share the bill, pay her equal share, because that was the type of woman she wanted to be. Yet reality said Jax had money to burn and she had none.
Jax noticed her hesitation, and he took the bill, pulling a few bills from his wallet and tucking them under the paper.
“Thank you,” she said, looking down. “For paying, and for asking, instead of just doing it. That’s what means the most I think.”
“It was my pleasure, Sarah,” Jax replied, his voice soft, deep, and very melodious, pleasing to the ear. Again, she liked the way her name sounded when he said it.
Suddenly unsure of everything, of why she’d come, of whether or not she should be there, Sarah stood up and went to leave, turning her back on Jax.
She’d gotten perhaps five steps before a hand on her shoulder stopped her and turned her back around.
There was a brief moment to realize Jax was there, that he was still stepping closer. Then fingers cupped her jaw and lifted her chin up as he covered her mouth with his.
Right there, in the middle of the restaurant. In full view of everyone. She froze.
Oh God, it’s good. His mouth. So nice, the touch of his lips.
A quiet whimper sounded in her throat as she melted into him, her body responding to his touch. Sarah wanted to let herself fall into it, into him. She almost did.
Almost.
17
Sarah pulled away without warning.
Jax straightened, surprised. She had been kissing him back. He knew she had been, he’d felt it. There was no denying that, he wasn’t that out of practice. Her tongue had been in his mouth, and she’d arched into him.
So, what was wrong? He fought through the rapid mindless urges of his dragon, asserting control over his body again, determined not to lose control and do something he would regret. Whatever might have been about to happen, it was clear that Sarah had other opinions about it now.
But she had responded. On some level, somewhere in her, he had confirmation that she was interested.
Slap.
“How dare you?” she hissed, eyes narrowing dangerously.
Then she turned and left the restaurant, leaving Jax standing there, hoping she hadn’t hurt her hand too badly from hitting him across the cheek. He paused to regard the fact that all eyes were on him.
Shrugging, he went after Sarah. Now was not the time to back down, he sensed. If he did that, if he just let her leave, she would never talk to him again, of that much he was certain.
“Sarah,” he called, trying to get her to slow down.
She was already halfway down the block, hurrying away in the opposite direction of the car. It led out of town, toward nothing, but he doubted she cared just then. Jax broke out into a slow jog, easily closing the gap between them. When he got close, he reached out and took her elbow, forcing her to turn.
“Leave me alone!” she snapped, wrenching her arm free and continuing to walk on.
“Not yet,” he rumbled and chased after her again, this time racing past her and blocking the sidewalk, forcing her to look up and meet his eyes.
“I’m not leaving yet,” he said. “So, you may as well talk to me.”
“I’m done talking to you,” she said angrily, but she didn’t turn to go.
She was waiting. Giving him time to speak.
Don’t fuck this up, Jax. Do better than you did with Raptere. Because you won’t get another shot at it.
“Sarah,” he said, standing his ground, but not getting in her personal space either. “I’m sorry, that was wrong of me back there. I should have asked. I should have—”
“Damn straight you should have asked first,” she cried. “I can’t believe you.”
“I thought—”
She waved a hand at him, silencing him.
“I should have known better, Jax,” she said softly, meeting his eyes, a said, distant look on her face. “It’s my fault, really. I should have known better. I should have said no to this from the start. Then we wouldn’t have been in this situation at all. If I’d have been able to do that, then you woul
dn’t have been tempted to do that.”
He frowned. She was as much admitting to him that she wanted to go on the date but had thought saying no would be the better idea. Why was it that she didn’t want to let herself get close to him?
“I should have known that all you wanted was sex. That you were just like all the other rich guys.”
Ah. There it was. He had his reason. Well, part of it.
And just what other rich guys are you referring to, I wonder, he thought to himself. Who has hurt you in the past, Sarah Mingott? Give me their names, and I promise you, I will destroy them.
That was for later, however, not for the immediate moment. He needed to patch things up with her before she cut him out of her life forever. The only question remaining was, how?
“Listen, I thought you were interested in me. I thought you were running because you wanted to kiss me, and that by taking charge, it would push through your wall. I was wrong. So incredibly wrong, and I’m sorry, Sarah. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“You’re right,” she said tiredly. “It won’t. Goodbye, Jax.”
Then she pushed past him.
This time, he let her go. Goodbye. There was a finality to that. She didn’t want to see him again.
Ever.
I’m not sure I can do that, Sarah. I can’t stay away from you. For now, maybe, but I’m going to see you again, and I’m going to fix this. I know you care for me too. You just have to learn to admit it to yourself.
What remained to be seen, was how he was going to do that, how he was going to convince her of her own feelings.
Maybe you can’t convince her.
Jax watched her retreat down the street, and a slow, happy smile spread over his face.
He couldn’t convince her to accept her own feelings, no. She was resistant to him, to what he represented in her mind.
But Jax knew someone who could talk sense into her.
18
Jax eased back into his chair, beer in hand, tuning out the regular chatter of the others around him. His mind was elsewhere, many miles to the east, back in Plymouth Falls, where he knew a certain young woman would be sitting down to dinner with her grandmother at any point now.
He longed to be there, to knock upon the door and smile at Sarah’s grandmother, whom he was sure would invite him in.
Jax was no idiot, he was aware he had faults, but Nancy Mingott seemed like the sort of woman who could see past those and knew he had no ill intentions in mind for her granddaughter. She, at least, didn’t judge him because of the wealth he possessed.
He’d almost gone straight over there after the disastrous end to the lunch date, but in the end, had decided to give things a day to calm down. If he showed up so quickly, it was all too likely that Sarah would be unwilling to see him at all, regardless of the—hopeful—help from her grandmother that Jax was counting on to get her to see reason.
Tomorrow, he thought, smiling to himself. Tomorrow he would go over, after work was done, and try to smooth things over. To see if he could coax Sarah into giving him a second chance, and maybe even realizing she didn’t hate him as much as she pretended.
Perhaps he would even figure out how she had been hurt in the past. Maybe there was something he could do about that, a way he could put his wealth to good use. His fingers tightened around the glass dangerously as he grew angry at the thought of someone hurting Sarah.
Only the sound of a baby’s cry prevented him from accidentally shattering the glass. He looked up with a smile, watching Liz gently croon to her child, rocking the infant back and forth.
“Not too much longer now for you,” Valla teased, pointing across the room. “Then there will be double the trouble here.”
Jax followed the finger, joining in the soft laughter that filled the room as Cheryl rested a hand on her swollen stomach, while beside her Victor pretended to look queasy.
The near-forced confinement that the human women had been undergoing lately had meant the mated pairs were spending even more time with each other than usual. It was only normal, Jax thought, that something like this would happen. If anything, he was more surprised that only Liz had gotten pregnant. He’d figured Olivia would be the first since she and Aaric had been together the longest, but they didn’t appear to be in any rush.
I wonder how much of that has to do with the stress Aaric is under, feeling like he has to hold this little band together all on his own?
The fire dragon didn’t meet Jax’s eyes, but he didn’t have to. The stress was clear in the lines on his face, and even the slight bags under his eyes, a very uncommon feature for a dragon to sport. Aaric was taking things with the vampires harder than the rest of them, and it was starting to take its toll on him.
I need to make this alliance happen. We all need it, but Aaric needs it most of all so that he can relax and enjoy the company of his mate, as he should be allowed to.
After all, Jax was the only unmated one of the group. He should be focusing on the job at hand, taking up the burden, so that those with mates could look after what was truly most important to a dragon shifter: their family.
Aaric stiffened, and Jax wondered if somehow the other dragon was reading his thoughts. But he noticed a light play across Aaric’s eyes, and the fire dragon sat upright in alarm.
His head snapped around to the window behind Valla and Liz just in time to see a bright splash of light erupt in the distance before it was swallowed by a darkness devoid of all light. That wasn’t the shadows of the evening hour at all, but something else, something far more sinister.
“The Keep is under attack,” both he and Aaric said at the same time, shooting to their feet.
The women looked around nervously, Liz cradling little Melina to her chest. Valla squeezed his mate’s leg and kissed her on the head. “You’ll be safe in here,” he said, getting to his feet, his hair already turning white as he called to his powers.
Jax snarled angrily at the interruption to the peaceful evening and began moving toward the window even before Aaric.
“Close it after us,” he said, undoing the latch and pushing the huge swinging window outward. “Lock it.”
Then he leapt through and dropped two stories to the garden below. Plants were crushed under his descent, and more flattened as the other dragons stepped out the second-story window and appeared at his side.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. Watch where you step!”
He turned to see Francis at a nearby window. Apparently, the steward had seen the flashes of light as well.
“Secure the Keep,” Jax snarled. “See to their mates.” His hand waved at the other dragons.
The normally sarcastic steward nodded sharply and turned on a dime, marching out of the nearby room with a purpose rarely seen in his step. He knew it was serious.
Light flared in Jax’s peripheral as Aaric’s hands sprang into flame, the dragons all drawing upon their powers.
As one, they broke out into a jog, clearing the rest of the garden, their long strides powered by superhuman muscles. The land raced by underneath, slowly blurring as they picked up speed, charging to the south end of the property, where the light continued to blossom as the vampires struck the Keep’s magical defenses.
Jax didn’t have to look left or right to know his brothers were preparing themselves for battle, the elements themselves coming to their call. It was the very nature of dragons to control these things, and they would use them to devastating effect against the vampires.
Jax did not call out. Not yet. His powers would be best used as a surprise.
They entered the treeline four abreast, terrifying figures out of the depths of human mythology as they raced to defend their Keep. Their home. For three of them, they were defending more than that. They were fighting for their love.
Jax would fight no less ferociously than his brothers, but knowing he would have no one to return to after the fight struck a pang in his heart. He was lonely, and right now he felt it more than ever.
/>
The forest ended abruptly as the massive strides of the dragons covered ground faster than any human could imagine.
In front of them, light blossomed again as darkness struck the wards, a golden dome appearing momentarily where the shadows themselves tried to strike, then fading away until the next attack.
Jax now called upon his powers, and the very earth itself rose, lifting him into the air so he could see over the thick stone wall that surrounded the entire property, looking upon their enemy for the first time.
“It is not the child,” he said, speaking of the ancient vampire in child’s form that his brothers had encountered before. “But his control of the night is still formidable. I see a few dozen minor vampires arrayed around him as well. Waiting.”
He stared at the leader, a nondescript male, mid-thirties perhaps—though being a vampire, it was impossible to tell how old he truly was. Several centuries at least, Jax figured, given the constant attacks he was launching against the wards.
“It’s a probe,” he announced, confident he’d figured it out. “They don’t have the strength to break through.”
The vampire tilted his head just then, and the next blow that struck the dome shook it.
“Maybe he does. Eventually,” Jax corrected, still restraining his own power, even as Aaric’s flames jumped higher and Valla’s skin began to glow white in the night.
“Either way, they have come to us,” Aaric rumbled ominously. “We should teach them a lesson about the perils of doing so.”
Jax smiled, and the column of earth he stood upon melted back into the ground until it was smooth again, as if he’d never been there. “I agree,” he said nastily.
Another thunderous blow struck, and the dome flared into brighter relief against the night sky beyond. The wards on Drakon Keep were centuries old and would hold for some time, but they weren’t impervious to attack. Eventually, they would collapse, and the vampires would get in.
It was up to them to stop that from happening.
“Ready, my brothers?” Aaric asked, his entire body now covered in flame, burning away his clothing, leaving a naked avatar of fire.
